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Tuesday, 28 April 2015

New Release: The City Beneath by Melody Johnson

The City Beneath

Night Blood # 1

By: Melody Johnson

Releasing April 28th, 2015

Kensington

The City Beneath

Night Blood Series

As
a journalist, Cassidy DiRocco thought she had seen every depraved
thing New York City’s underbelly had to offer. But while covering
what appears to be a vicious animal attack, she finds herself drawn
into a world she never knew existed. Her exposé makes her the target
of the handsome yet brutal Dominic Lysander, the Master Vampire of
New York City, who has no problem silencing her to keep his coven's
secrets safe…

But
Dominic offers Cassidy another option: ally. He reveals she is a
night blood, a being with powers of her own, including the ability to
become a vampire. As the body count escalates, Cassidy is caught in
the middle of a vampire rebellion. Dominic insists she can help him
stop the coming war, but wary of his intentions, Cassidy enlists the
help of the charming Ian Walker, a fellow night blood. As the battle
between vampires takes over the city, Cassidy will have to tap into
her newfound powers and decide where to place her trust...

The
scar was thin and pink, and it puckered slightly. It tore through his
lower lip in a downward pull, and continued diagonally over his chin
where it disappeared into the wreckage of his burned flesh. A
paramedic finally jogged to us from around the block, but I didn’t
recognize him. He was tall and lanky and very young looking—even
younger looking than Nathan, which was hard to accomplish—but
thanks to Nathan, I knew all too well that young looking didn’t
translate to incapable.

As
the paramedic approached, he absorbed the scene; his eyes flashed
over the victim’s body and his surroundings, and eventually, his
gaze locked on my hand holding the victim’s elbow. I resisted the
urge to pull my hand away.

“Detective
Wahl said you called in a burn victim.” The paramedic snapped on a
pair of latex gloves.

I
nodded. “Yes, that’s what it looks like.”

The
paramedic knelt next to us, hovered over the victim with his ear over
the man’s mouth, and trained his eyes on the man’s chest. He
pressed two fingers on his charred neck. I winced. After about
fifteen seconds of concentration, the paramedic straightened and sat
back on his haunches.

“What
the hell is this?” he asked. He didn’t make any moves toward
actually opening his equipment case. “We have live victims that
need tending at the main crime scene.”

I
didn’t like his tone, and on a normal night, I would react with a
blast of attitude. My short-person syndrome wasn’t becoming any
milder through the years. If anything, turning thirty had completely
eliminated my ability to tolerate most people. But this wasn’t a
normal night, so I played nice and swallowed my temper.

“Yes.
Greta did mention that you were busy,” I responded civilly.

“I
appreciate you coming away from the main crime scene to tend to this
victim.”

The
paramedic shook his head. “This man’s dead. You’ve got to
return to the police barrier with the rest of the media.”

The
anger I’d doused flared in a sunburst. I took a deep breath against
the words I wanted to say and spoke through clenched teeth, “This
man is still breathing, and I’m farther behind the police barrier
than any of the other reporters. I think I’ll stay where I am.”

“You
know the drill, Miss . . .”

The
paramedic waited for me to finish his sentence, but I just stared
right back. Let him finish his own damn sentences.

He
cleared his throat. “Look, I’m needed back at the scene, so if
this is all you called me here for, I—”

“Are
you going to help this man or not?” I finally snapped.

The
paramedic stared at me like I was insane. “I told you; this man is
dead.”

I
blinked at him and then down at the man whose elbow I was still
holding. After a moment of silence, I heard it—a faint rattling
exhale from a man who didn’t have a nose to exhale with anymore. I
shook my head. “He’s been making noises. He’s struggling to
breathe.”

The
paramedic crouched to listen again with his ear over the man’s
mouth. He placed his index and middle fingers over the man’s raw
neck for a second time, but after another fifteen seconds of
concentration, the paramedic shook his head. “The man is dead. He’s
probably been dead since before you found him.”

“No,
I’ve heard the noises. It’s like a strained exhale that—”

The
paramedic straightened away from the victim and placed his hand on my
shoulder. “They do that sometimes.”

I
narrowed my eyes on his hand, and he pulled away.

“This
man does not have a pulse,” he said, sounding defensive. “He’s
dead.”

A
rattle hissed from the man’s chest again, louder than before. He
didn’t sound dead. He sounded in pain.

“Listen,
I’ve got to get back to the scene, and I suggest you do the same
before the police extend their boundaries and catch you tampering
with their evidence.”

I
pursed my lips. “No problem. Where do we take him?”

“We’re
saving cleanup for the day shift,” he said, already walking away.
“We’ve got to get the wounded to medical as fast as possible,
which means leaving the bodies for later, once the police finish
processing the scene.”

“Wonderful,”
I muttered, not appeased in the least. My story needed to be
submitted by midnight; I had less than two hours until the paper was
put to bed. It felt wrong to just leave, but deadlines were
deadlines. I squeezed the man’s elbow gently before letting go.

I
hoped the paramedic was right. I hoped the man was dead long before I
stumbled upon him, and that he’d found a better place than this.

Melody
Johnson is the author of the Night Blood series. She graduated magna
cum laude from Lycoming College with her B.A. in creative writing and
psychology. While still earning her degree, she worked as an editing
intern for Wahida Clark Presents Publishing. She was a copyeditor for
several novels, including Cheetah by Missy Jackson; Trust No Man II
by Cash; and Karma with a Vengeance by Tash Hawthorne. Book #1 of the
Night Blood series, The City Beneath, is her debut novel. When she
isn't writing, Melody can be found hiking the many woodsy trails in
her Pennsylvania hometown or sunning and swimming at the beach. You
can learn more about Melody and her work at elodymay.blog.com,
Facebook and Twitter.

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How many stars?

When posting a review, I don't usually add a star rating. That is something I do as part of cross-posting on Goodreads and Amazon. If you like stars, then all reviews I post would be at least 3 stars or above. Meaning, I enjoyed the book.